This invention relates generally to food processing devices, and in particular to a hand-held device for slicing or grating foodstuffs.
The patent literature includes numerous patents disclosing hand-held devices for processing foodstuffs.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 125,428 (Amerling) discloses a nutmeg grater in the form of a wooden body having a circular opening. In this device, the nutmeg is placed in position within the circular opening and the operator presses his thumb down on a rod holding a follower member. Thereafter, using the unoccupied hand, the operator revolves a crank which rotates a grater to grinds or grate the nutmeg.
U.S. Pat. No. 67,010 (Whitney et al) also discloses a nutmeg grater. The grater of this patent comprises a circular grating disk that is disposed beneath a device for yieldingly retaining the nutmeg in contact with the grating disk. In operation, the nutmeg is placed in the pocket or receptacle of the device in contact with the grating-disk. A piston is provided which may be withdrawn or turned to one side to allow for insertion of the nutmeg. The device includes a follower to press the nut with the desired force against the grating-disk which is rotated by means of the crank.
U.S. Pat. No. 186,884 (Scheibel) also discloses a hand-held nutmeg press having a revolving grating disk on which nuts are pressed by means of a receptacle having a spring-loaded follower.
U.S. Pat. No. 673,521 (Mitchel) discloses a kitchen utensil arranged to be mounted on a table or the like for slicing and grating potatoes that includes a hollow case in which the potato is disposed. The hollow case has an open discharge end and a piston that is reciprocable within the case to push the potato toward the discharge end. The utensil also includes a material-separating or grater disk that is revolvably mounted on an arbor and a rotatable hand crank that is rotatable to slice or grate the potato as it is pushed out of the discharge end of the utensil.
U.S. Pat. No. 774,217 (Welke) discloses a nutmeg grater that is comprised of two radial operating arms that are pivotally connected together at one end by a retaining bolt. A spring interposed between the operating arms biases the arms away from each other. A receptacle is rigidly connected at one end of one of the operating arms and a grater plate is rigidly connected to the free end of the opposite arm. A means is provided for yieldingly retaining nutmeg in contact with the grater plate. As the free ends of the arms are compressed and released, the grater plate is moved in a circular course beneath the receptacle to grate the nutmeg.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,195,598 (Koch) discloses a device for grating fruits or vegetables.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,720 (Bianchi) discloses a double-hinged garlic press/grater combination which can press, extrude and grate material.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,054 (Feer et al) discloses a food grater comprising an inverted V-shaped freestanding frame defined by first and second panel members pivotally joined at upper ends. The panels fold into a parallel orientation for storage and expand into a freestanding orientation for use. Outwardly directed food grating means 22 in at least one of the panels is provided to grate food passed thereover, and apertures 20 communicate with the grating means to pass grated food segments to an inside surface of the panel. A transparent collection container 44 attaches to the inside surface of the panel and serves to collect the fragmented food and display its quantity to the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,491 (Molo) discloses a food grater including a grater blade removably mounted to a forward face of an upwardly and rearwardly inclined housing positioned for the reception of the grated foodstuff. The housing has a handle pivotally secured to the rear thereof and movable between an open rearwardly and downwardly inclined position bracing the housing, and a forward folded position partially nested within the rear portion of the housing, presumably for storage.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,026,985 (Elliott, Sr.) discloses a food dispenser gun comprising a tube holding a quantity of an extrudable food product, a piston sealingly engaged with an interior of the tube, a rod coupled to the piston and an incremental dispenser engaged with the rod and the tube, the incremental dispenser comprising a trigger, or an advancement lever operable to move the rod in a first direction relative to the incremental dispenser in response to the trigger and a retrograde lock operable to prevent the rod from moving in a second direction.
While all of the aforementioned prior art may be suitable for their general purposes they still leave much to be desired from various standpoints, such as hand-holdability, ease of use, effectiveness, simplicity of construction, etc.
In accordance with one aspect of this invention there is provided a hand-held food processor for slicing or grating a foodstuff, e.g., garlic. The food processor basically comprises a receptacle member having a hollow cavity for receipt of the food stuff, a pusher member for engaging the foodstuff to move the foodstuff, a cutting member for slicing or grating the foodstuff and an actuator for operating the cutting member. The receptacle member has a body portion, e.g., an elongated handle-like member, including a first end and a second end. The hollow cavity is located at the second end of the receptacle member and has a outlet through which a portion of the foodstuff is arranged to be pushed.
The cutting member, e.g., a planar panel having at least one opening whose marginal edge forms a blade or grating element, is movably mounted, e.g., arranged for reciprocation, adjacent the receptacle""s outlet. The pusher member, e.g., an elongated handle-like member, has a first end pivotably connected to the first end of the receptacle member and a second end, e.g., a textured surface, for engaging the foodstuff within the cavity to push a portion of the foodstuff out of the outlet.
The actuator, e.g., a spring-biased lever, is arranged to cause the cutting member to move, e.g., reciprocate, across the outlet into engagement with the portion of the foodstuff exiting the outlet to slice or grate that portion of the foodstuff.